


tin gods

by akire_yta



Series: supersverse [13]
Category: Bandom, Disney RPF, Skippy - Fandom
Genre: F/F, M/M, supersverse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-10-30
Updated: 2010-10-30
Packaged: 2018-01-02 13:18:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,900
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1057231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akire_yta/pseuds/akire_yta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kevin can handle having a secret boyfriend, a secret superpower, and a secret identity. But that doesn't mean he can handle everything life throws at him. [Part Two of the Superheroes AU]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Notes: thanks to psuedo_catalyst for hand holding and proof reading, all remaining mistakes are my own. This is a corner square (h/c) for my SDS bingo card, so two lines = two piles of cookies in my book!
> 
> [Primer](http://verbosemofo.livejournal.com/27282.html#cutid1): given that part one was a Nic/Cass story, with skippy as a secondary pairing, here's a brief recap of "A Little Bit More Than I Can Take" for those who haven't read it or maybe just forgot.

* * *

Kevin blinked awake to the strong sensation that something was wrong. The sheets rustled as, next to him, Mike twitched in his sleep, breathing already fast and shallow.

Kevin rolled and pushed himself up on his elbow, reaching out slowly and cautiously. Mike stilled under his touch, turning instinctively even in his sleep towards Kevin. Kevin patiently stroked his skin and waited for Mike to rouse himself from his nightmare. He smiled softly as Mike’s eyes finally flickered open a minute or two later. “Same again?” he whispered.

Mike nodded, sniffing as he rubbed his face with the back of his hand. He came willingly as Kevin tugged him over, his arms sliding around Kevin and holding on tight until the worst of the shivers finally subsided.

“Wanna talk about it?” Kevin asked gently, pressing a kiss against Mike’s cheek.

Mike twisted a little until he was lying on his back, pressed up against Kevin. “Not really,” he muttered dismissively. “I just fall out of the sky. That’s it.”

Kevin waited patiently, never ceasing in the gentle strokes of his thumb along Mike’s arm.

Mike fidgeted with the edge of the sheet. “And I never hit the ground. I just keep falling and falling.” His mouth tightened, the creases around the corner of his eyes deepening, and Kevin pressed in even closer. “I can feel gravity pulling at me, and the wind is howling, and I’m dropping and dropping, and...” He shuddered and hissed out a shaky breath. “I have no idea which way is up, there’s nothing I can do but fall endlessly.”

Kevin didn’t let go, murmuring soothing nothings until he felt Mike’s heartbeat finally stop hammering against his chest. “Better?”

Mike sighed and smiled at him, craning his neck to peck a soft kiss against the side of Kevin’s mouth. “Fucking dreams,” he said disparagingly.

Kevin huffed a laugh as he nodded. “Amen,” he agreed fervently.

Mike glanced over at the small clock on his bedside table. “What time did you set the alarm for?”

“Five am.” Kevin made a face at the glowing numbers -- 4:20.

Mike raised an eyebrow. “It’s barely worth going back to sleep, is it?”

Kevin laughed quietly and rolled until he was sprawled over Mike. They made out slowly, sleepily, almost drowning in each other, pressing in, taking their time, letting it build until they came together, the sensation rolling over them and washing away the last traces of the nightmare.

As the clock on the bedside ticked over the hour, Kevin slowly pulled on his t-shirt and stood, glancing around the anonymous hotel room one last time for anything he’d forgotten.

Mike came out of the bathroom, barefoot and bare chested, the top button of his jean still undone. Kevin stared, quietly marveling how even, after all these years, Mike still could make his heart beat faster. “I have to go,” he said reluctantly.

Mike nodded; they both knew this routine. “Okay,” he said quietly, coming over to pull Kevin into a hug. He nodded, cheek rubbing against Mike’s shoulder. In his pocket, Kevin’s phone buzzed a second alarm.

Kevin pushed up and into a final, fierce kiss before stepping back and letting himself fade out. The last thing he saw was Mike waving goodbye, a little wiggle of his fingers, before Kevin let go of the physical world and fell through the floor.

He was better at this now, too, figuring out the space, phasing back at just the right moment. It helped that hotel rooms were all carbon copies of each other in terms of layout, but even so, he only just hit the end of his bed, and the bounce sent him tumbling onto the floor.

Kevin rolled with it to a stop and listened, but there was no sound from out in the main suite except for the distant buzz of Joe’s snores. Kevin picked himself up and stretched out before going to mess up his covers to make it look like this was the bed he had spent the night in.

* * *

As Kevin hung back from Nick and Joe’s bickering, Big Rob bumped his arm and gave him a respectful nod. Kevin hated that he was keeping so many secrets, hated that, even inadvertently, he’d made Big Rob complicit in the deception, so he tried to keep him as far from it as possible. Anything Rob didn’t catch, he didn’t have to lie about.

Kevin nodded back in curt acknowledgement. He’d gotten a lot better at sneaking around.

In front of them, Joe and Nick tumbled into the waiting car, pulling the door shut behind them. Kevin sighed and reached for the handle before the could lock him out again.

* * *

In his head, Kevin had to remind himself to call the house in Texas _home_. In reality, home was Mike’s tiny bedroom, the battered sofa in Cassadee’s living room, the weirdly shaped table in Nic’s kitchen with her fluffy dog laying his head on your feet. Home was hugs that went on forever, and smiles that reached the eyes, and not having to lie about anything, safe in the knowledge that you’d be loved and accepted as is.

Texas was not home.

In truth, Kevin found the house in Texas a little gaudy, a little showy, a little too desperate to impress. It reminded Kevin too much of the endless succession of hotel rooms that he’d seemed to have spent half his life in. It was crisp and clean and strangely impersonal, a place they visited rather than lived in, despite the family name splashed across everything from the front gate to the print on the pool table in the back room.

Kevin accepted cursory hugs and handshakes, nodded along like he was listening as his family praised Joe and Nick’s most recent accomplishments and cooed over Frankie’s latest growth spurt. He sat through dinner, mouthing _amen_ dutifully as father said grace, and retired early, pleading jetlag.

He was sending a text as soon as the door closes behind him. Mike answered straight away, like he’d been waiting up to hear from Kevin, and for the first time that day, Kevin felt himself relax.

Three more days, and then he’d be home.

* * *

“It’s not my fault you’re a midget!”

Kevin closed the door behind him as he shot Cass a curious look. She grinned, held a finger over her lips and gestured him closer. Kevin peeked around the doorframe just as Nic put her hands on her hips and glared at Mike. “I’m not short, I’m condensed awesome,” she shot back. Kevin grinned and Cass giggled as Nic finished it with a sassy little hairflip.

He came fully into the room as Nic turned and beamed at him. “Hey, sweetheart,” she said easily, reaching out to claim a quick sideways hug. “Tell your boyfriend that if he doesn’t stop with the short jokes, I’ll TK him to the wall and make him watch ten hours straight of Hannah Montana.”

Kevin mimed clutching his heart. “Please, no, don’t, I love him,” he fired back melodramatically.

“My hero,” Mike said dryly, laughing as his fingers tugged at the back of Kevin’s shirt, reeling him in.

Kevin elbowed him gently in the ribs. “What’s with the short jokes, anyway?”

Nic made a face. “He’s being rude about the size of my tac vest,” she said with a pout.

Kevin blinked. “They came in?”

Mike nodded, letting him go to turn and pull something out of the boxes on Nic’s couch. “Wanna try yours on?”

They’d sat around Mike’s laptop for hours, googling information and online suppliers the month before, and Kevin had been too worried about not leaving a paper trail straight back to them to give much thought as to what they’d feel like to wear.

It felt...weird. Not as bulky as perhaps he’d expected, but still a bit like wearing a down-filled vest, where the down came from lead ducks. He said as much to Mike, who scowled. “You’re lucky, yours is the light one.”

Kevin pursed his lips. “Can I try yours?”

It turned into a strange game of dress-up -- Nic’s vest hung low over her hips, and she looked uncomfortable in it, and Cass kept fiddling with the neck and arms holes of hers. Only Mike looked natural in his; it fit snugly around his chest and emphasized the taper of his waist.

Kevin drifted forward and toyed with the velcro strap over Mike’s shoulder. “You look good.”

Mike snorted. “Just can’t wear anything too fitted over the top.”

Nic laughed. “Like you ever do. Besides, it’s only for when we’re out, y’know, doing our thing.” Her smile turned into a frown of concentration. “I’m totally going to have to practice running in this, aren’t I?”

Cass brushed her hand down Nic’s bare arm. “Maybe wear it under your clothes for a bit, just to get used to it.”

Nic stared at her. “And if someone notices?”

Cass shrugged, the movement almost lost under the heavy material. “Say you’re researching a role for an audition or something.”

Nic beamed. “You have the best ideas,” she crowed, hooking her finger over the neck of Cass’ vest and pulling her down to peck a kiss to her lips.

Kevin smiled and leaned in as Mike’s hands stole around to rest comfortably on his hips. It had taken them forever, but Kevin couldn’t help but be happy that Nic and Cass had finally found each other. His smile turned incredulous as Nic and Cass _kept_ kissing.

Behind him, Mike cleared his throat meaningfully. “Would you like us to leave you two alone?”

Without breaking the kiss, Cass held up a middle finger to Mike and Kevin. Kevin snorted under his breath. “What’s say you and I go sort dinner and leave these two crazy kids alone,” he said cheerfully.

Nic mumbled something that might have been agreement into Cass’ lips. Kevin squeezed gently as Mike’s hand stole into his and tugged him out of the room.

* * *

Later, curled around each other in the darkness, Kevin walked his fingers up Mike’s ribs, counting out their time together on each wave of muscle and bone.

It was going to be four years this summer.

* * *

Kevin felt weird but somehow right the first time he pulled on his new costume. They still joked and teased, but there was an edge to it now, they were too aware of what might happen. When Kevin pulled down his mask, he became something more, someone few people knew even existed.

Robberies were the worst; Kevin saw Cass massaging her upper arm as they crouched on the mezzanine overlooking the foyer, waiting for the bad guys to emerge just as Ashlee had said they would.

Cass glanced up, saw Kevin watching her, and shrugged.

Kevin reached out and gently squeezed her wrist for a moment before withdrawing. She nodded, smiling under her new mask. They didn’t need to talk about it any more.

Then the bad guys were there. Ash hadn’t been able to clearly see what they had taken, but Kevin had seen the sign for the gemstone dealer on the top floor and had hazarded his own guess. He frowned as he caught his first clear look at them; they were in dark suits, dark glasses despite the fact that it had gone midnight. They were both carrying briefcases that looked heavy.

Kevin caught Cass’ eye and shrugged. Ash said stop them leaving with whatever they took, so that’s what they would do.

“New trick?” Cass mouthed, and for a second, it was just like old times as Kevin grinned and nodded, clambering onto Cass’ back for a weird kind of piggy-back ride.

Cass understood, in her own way, why Kevin loved his power, his strange little gift. Together, the floor ceased to hold them up as they phased out and dropped through it. Kevin braced himself, trusting Cass to hold his weight as they landed. Even so, impact was enough to make him gasp.

In the silent foyer, the sound made the villains turn, free hands already reaching into suit jackets. Kevin dropped off Cass’ back and disappeared even as she dove to the left, towards the minimal cover of some potted plants and deeper shadows.

He heard the villains curse. “Fuck,” one of them spat. “Let’s get outta here.”

They turned and were lifted off their feet, flipping over to land with a painful thump on their backs. One of the briefcases skittered across the faux-mable floor, spewing not the expected contraband gemstones but instead reams of paper, organized in plain, buff folders.

Trusting the girls to have his back, Kevin moved forward and scooped up the papers, stuffing them back into the briefcase. One of the clasps was busted - Kevin tucked the briefcase under his arm and hoped he wouldn’t drop it. He looked up just as Nicole stepped out of the shadows, arms out in front of her as she focused and pushed a wave of pressure strong enough to put the bad guys down and keep them that way.

The three of them turned as one as red lights flashed through the glass frontage of the lobby. “Time to go,” Cass said quietly.

“That was quick,” Nic noted as she glanced down at the two men on the floor. “They must have tripped an alarm.” She nudged one of the suits with her boot. He groaned weakly, and she nodded, satisfied. “Okay, we’re good.”

Kevin didn’t need to be told twice. They were getting faster at this too - Kevin reached the stairwell door first, phasing it out with a touch just in time for the girls to sprint straight through it. Nic tripped the lock on the second door at the top of the stairwell, holding it open for him as he ran through before closing it and sealing it after him.

Kevin stopped, ignoring the view in favour of sucking in deep lungfuls of air. He was getting better, but stairs were still a killer. “What have you got?” Mike touched down neatly to crouch on the top of a cooling tower. “Diamonds?” he asked a little hopefully.

Kevin shook his head, willing his heartbeat to slow. “Documents,” he said. “Seemed important to them.”

Mike nodded and stepped lightly off the cooling tower onto the roof. “Well, her ladyship did say to bring back the goods.” He held out his hands to Cassadee, pulling her in and holding her tightly around her waist, hand gripping the little loop they had sewn into her new jacket especially for this.

Kevin watched Mike lightly fly her over to another building halfway down the block. “Think she’s ever going to learn to like flying?” he asked Nic, one eye on the access door.

Nic shrugged and laughed. “About as soon as I learn to love phasing. Want me to take that?”

“Careful, the lock’s broke.” Kevin caught her wink through the mask, and then Mike was swooping in to scoop her up. This transfer was quicker, and then Mike was back.

“Last but definitely not least.”

Kevin looped his arms around Mike’s neck, holding on tight. “Oh, carrying around pretty girls all night, you love it.”

Mike tucked his chin over Kevin’s shoulder and the rooftop fell away. Kevin didn’t look down; tonight, despite the ever-present smog and lights, Kevin was sure he could see the stars over LA.

They didn’t speak again until they were dropping off the fire escape of the second building. Mike opened the car, revving the engine as he tugged off his mask. “Call Ash,” he said, glancing in the rearview mirror as he nosed them out of the alley.

“Already on it,” Nic replied, mask in her lap as she fumbled out her cell phone.

Kevin eased a finger into the velcro seam of his vest, loosening it until it was comfortable. “Bet you she already knows it’s not diamonds,” he said as Nic spoke quietly into her phone, terse, coded phrases.

Mike shrugged, and Kevin heard the click as Nic canceled the call. “No bet. Pete’s got people over, so she just wants us to drop it off in the usual spot.”

Mike nodded, humming to himself as he made the turn. Kevin glanced up the street, caught the distant flash of police lights, and then they were gone, speeding up into traffic.

“Hey,” Cass said as she leaned into the gap between the two front seats. “After that, what’s say we go get waffles?”

“Waffles!” Nic cheered, her voice muffled as she struggled out of her vest.

Kevin glanced at Mike and started to laugh.

* * *

“Watch out,” Joe said as they met at the top of the stairs and came down together. “Mom’s on a mission.”

Usually, Kevin was okay with being ignored; now, all he wanted to do was disappear. He tightened his grip around his cutlery and forced himself to stay tangible as his mother twittered away about the daughter of some distant friend who, apparently, was very lovely and very single.

When she started making plans for Kevin to meet the girl for coffee, Kevin calmly shredded his bread roll and said nothing. Now wasn’t the time for grand revelations.

He was starting to doubt it ever would be.

After dinner, he went back upstairs. In the privacy of his room here, he tugged off his ring and held it up until the light caught the tiny engraving inside it, four little etchings on the silver, one on each mark of the compass: KJ. MC. A heart. And a sideways eight. The sign of forever, Mike had said to him as he’d slipped the ring back on his finger. “So you won’t forget that you and me are it, no matter what they throw at you.”

Kevin wasn’t a lyricist, but he could still appreciate a metaphor.

* * *

His mother’s friend’s daughter was tall, slender, very blonde and very nice, in an empty sort of way. She had a shiny silver cross around her neck that she kept fidgeting with as introductions were made, and a vaguely annoying habit of giggling at everything.

Kevin knew what was expected of him by now; he poured coffee and offered her a cookie and took his mother’s barely veiled suggestion to go sit out by the pool.

Starting the conversation wasn’t too hard. A life spent on the move, always meeting new people, had instilled in a Kevin a knack for finding some common ground to talk to anyone about. But between the giggles, she had nothing much to say.

Kevin pasted a somewhat interested smile on his face and tuned her out as she started talking reality TV. He wondered if it’d be rude to interrupt her chatter to go get more coffee. He hadn’t had much sleep last night, and had been kind of hoping to sneak an afternoon nap before this, though Frankie running around the house yelling and playing some weird game had scotched that idea.

“Are you okay?” she asked suddenly, and Kevin blinked.

“Yeah, sorry, just a bit tired. Seem to have done nothing but travel all month.”

Her mouth twisted up in a moue of concern, and Kevin noticed her lipstick had started to rub off. “Oh, that must be hard. Here.” Before he could react, she had put down her mug and moved closer. Kevin flinched instinctively as she reached for him.

“Sorry,” he muttered, turning away so he wouldn’t have to acknowledge the hurt written across her face. There was something else there he recognized, and hated. “Would you like another drink? No? Okay, I’ll just be a minute.”

He knew it was rude, but he needed space. He hated lying like this enough as it was, even if Mike found it amusing. But when the girls his mother picked looked at him with such naked greed, it was anything but funny.

* * *

Kevin had intended to read a book for a little while after dinner, but he must have drifted off, because he woke suddenly to the bleeping of his cell. Knuckling the sleep from his eyes, he glanced at the message and smiled. Pulling the house extension over, he dialled the number from memory. “You rang, my lady,” Kevin said gallantly.

“Hey,” a warm voice filtered down the line. “Did I wake you?”

Kevin smiled and leaned back. “Everything comes earlier in Texas, Ash. How are you?”

“Good as I can be,” Ash murmured. “When are you next in town?”

Kevin made a face at the far wall. “Not for a while yet. Something up?”

Ash took a deep breath, and Kevin was reminded again of her paranoia about talking openly on the phone, even a landline. “Just been through that paperwork you dropped off last time you were up,” she said meaningfully. “Found a few points of interest we really do need to discuss before we, ah, proceed.” She took a deep breath. “I’d prefer face-to-face, and as soon as possible.”

Kevin cradled the receiver against his shoulder as he pulled over his cell and called up his calendar. “Umm, actually, if it’s urgent, I could hop a flight to LA tomorrow evening? Be a flying visit, though.”

Ash made a satisfied noise. “That’s all I need.” Down the line, Kevin heard a commotion. “And there’s Pete now. See you when you get in.”

“Bye,” Kevin said, frowning a little at the dial tone. Dropping the phone back on his receiver, he tugged over his laptop and began hunting for a flight out.

The house was quiet, settling in the cooler night air, when Kevin padded back downstairs to say goodnight and maybe mention his change of plans. He found Joe first. “Hey,” Kevin said, walking past to get some juice from the refrigerator.

“Hey,” Joe said tightly. Kevin turned, suddenly wary of the tension in Joe’s shoulders.

“What’s up?” Kevin asked, keeping his tone light, breezy, a pale shadow of his ‘talking-to-kidnappers-and-villains’ voice.

“So,” Joe said after an awkward pause. “You know, right, if you want to do your own side project too, you just have to say. I mean, you’ve backed me and Nick up all the way, you don’t need to sneak around...”

“Joe,” Kevin cut him off. “What are you talking about?” He realized he was nervously thumbing his ring, and made himself stop.

Joe squirmed. “You know Frankie likes to eavesdrop on the extension,” Joe admitted slowly, and Kevin’s heart plummeted. Frantically, he tried to mental rewind the conversation, see if anything incriminating had been said. It must have shown on his face, because Joe was flapping his hands. “It’s okay, he told me and Nick first, and we made him promise not to breath a word of this to anyone else. But seriously, dude, you’re flying to LA to go over the paperwork, it must be serious. Which label?”

Kevin panicked. “Umm, Decaydance,” he blurted. Mentally, he sent up an apology to Ash, and her husband too.

Joe stared at him. “No way,” he exclaimed. “Pete Wentz’s label? Dude, what are you doing for him?”

Kevin shrugged. “Just odds and ends, nothing major,” he said, stalling.

Joe fixed him with a sharp look. “Kevin,” he said firmly. “You don’t fly out to LA on a moment’s notice to do contract negotiations for odds and ends.”

Kevin bit his lip. “Listen, Joe, I don’t want to....” he took a deep breath and lied point blank to his brother. “I don’t want to jinx anything, it probably won’t pan out....”

“Hey,” Joe cut him off. ‘“I get it. But the second it _does_ pan out, I wanna hear about it, okay?” Kevin nodded mutely. “Good, and in the meantime I’ll sit on the junior Jonas’ for you.”

“Thanks,” Kevin muttered and escaped back to his room.


	2. Chapter 2

***

To his relief, Ashlee laughed when Kevin told her what had happened as he helped her fix a salad. “Let me know if they keep on with it,” she said, handing him the dressing. “Pete’s rightfully protective of his label, but I’m sure session work wouldn’t be out of the question.” She smiled. “I’d bet he’d do it for the kick of it alone.”

Kevin made a face at the sliced tomato. “Or I could just say the deal fell through. My family would believe that.”

He tried to keep his voice light, but Ash wasn’t fooled. “Oh sweetie, come here.” He looked up just as she leaned over and whapped him upside the head. “Don’t talk yourself down, you hear me?” Kevin grinned at her, and she laughed. “Much better. Besides, working for my husband has its advantages, one of which is that it would no longer be strange for you to be seen with me.” She pulled some cutlery out of a drawer and paused. “Would also make all those sightings of you and Nic at Warped with Cass suddenly make sense,” she added thoughtfully.

Kevin made a face. “Can we please talk about something other than you turning my professional life into another cover story, please?”

He poked moodily at the lettuce and tried to ignore her silent stare. He was saved from the conversation by the ringing of the door chimes, and then the sound of familiar voices coming down the passageway.

He looked up, a smile on his face, just in time to see Ash greet them with her hands on her hips. “One of these days, I’m gonna find a lock you can’t trip,” she said fondly as she hugged them one by one.

Mike kissed her cheek, handing her over to Nic as he moved to wrap Kevin in a hug. “You know she’d just consider that a challenge,” he said easily, and Kevin smiled as he felt the familiar rumble where their chests were pressed together. Mike released him, but his arm didn’t slip from where it was wrapped almost possessively around Kevin’s waist. Mike plucked a slice of tomato out of the saladbowl, and Kevin slapped his wrist gently with a playful smile.

“Make yourself useful, put that on the table,” he said fondly, and the next few minutes passed in a blur of activity as Nic got down the plates and Cass found juice and glasses, before they were all settling into their accustomed seats around Ash’s table.

“Want to say grace,” Ash asked, and Kevin flashed her a grateful smile. He knew the others were, at best, casually agnostic, but when he reached out on either side, Mike and Nic were ready to take his hand.

He squeezed their fingers gently as he bowed his head. “For this meal we are about to share, we thank you.” He paused. “And for the company we share, I thank you. Amen.”

The _amen_ was echoed around the table. “That’s not the usual grace you say, is it?” Mike asked with a little wink as he picked up his fork in his free hand.

Kevin gave his hand another little squeeze before letting go. “Unauthorized version,” he shot back lightly, grateful when Mike just nodded and let it drop for now. Kevin cleared his throat. “So, Ash,” he asked, looking over at her as he accepted the salad bowl. “As much as I love your home cooking, I know you didn’t ask us all out here just to feed us.”

She nodded as she watched everyone fill their plates. “I’ve had a good look at those folios you grabbed the last time you were in town,” she said as she rested her chin on the back of her hand, her fork dangling loosely between her fingertips. “Took me a while to figure out what I was looking at.”

Nic smiled and waggled her knife in the air. “Admit it, you had to google the answer like the rest of us for once.”

Ash burst out laughing. “Actually, I did.” She sat back, and Kevin noticed she had barely touched her meal. “It was gene sequences and chemical formula.”

Mike paused mid-chew. “Wait,” he said, mouth full. He made a noise, chewed, and swallowed. “Like, what, for a medicine?”

Ashlee shrugged and poked at the lettuce leaf on her plate. “My grasp of chemistry pretty much begins and ends with how many baby tylenol I can give Bronx,” she said with a shrug. “And the gene stuff is pretty high-level too--lots of graphs and sequences and even some raw base pair lists. And yes,” she added with fond exasperation as Nic opened her mouth. “I got that off google too.” She looked up and made a wry little face. “If you geniuses have any idea what that means, I’d love to hear it.”

Cass put down her fork. “Can we have a look?”

Ash nodded and pointed. “Sure, they’re just on top of the fridge there.”

Kevin sniggered. “You won’t talk about it over the phone, but you’ll keep them on the fridge next to the power bill?”

Ash laughed. “Actually, they’ve been locked in the strong box in the back of my wardrobe, behind all my shoes,” she winked at him. “Which is the safest spot in this house, trust me. I got them out just before you got here.” She tapped the side of her head. “I knew we weren’t going to be interrupted this evening.”

Between her and Kevin, Nic was leaning over precariously to look over Cass’s shoulder as she began flipping through the folders. “I’ve seen these before,” she said slowly.

Cass looked up, a furrow marring her brow. “They’re really familiar...” her eyes widened. “I remember!” She closed the files and put them on her lap. “Remember, before I got shot?” Nic made an unhappy noise, and Cass patted the back of her wrist. “Just before that. All the workers were that room, and all those guys, more than you’d need for a just a straight robbery. They were bringing out files like these.” She tapped the stack on her lap.

Nic sat up straight. “She’s right! One guy I knocked, I remember him because when his stuff went flying, and it reminded me of a time in gymnastics where one of the coaches tripped on a mat and all the training schedules she was carrying went everywhere.” She bit her lip, looking a little abashed as they stared at her. “It was all those papers, with coloured in grids, just like,” she added, digging into the pile still on Cass’ lap. “This.”

Ash nodded. “That’s one of the gene sequences.” She sighed again, sounding tired. “Trust me, I had to spend half the night in some very weird parts of the internet where everyone talks in acronyms just to figure even that out.” She took a deep breath. “But I’ve been having these...” she paused, choosing her words with care. “These _inclinations_ that whoever shot Cass, whoever these guys are, they’re not just something random. They’re tied to us somehow. And now that,” she continued, nodding at the files. “They’re stealing research on genetics and chemical compounds.” Her eyes skittered around the table and landed on Mike. “You asked if they were medicines? There were some names on some of those molecular maps, and it turns out some were pharmaceuticals, but most of them were pesticides, fertilizer additives, a few other things. They all have on thing in common though. They were all phased out or banned decades ago.”

Kevin stared at his plate and wondered where his appetite went. He swallowed and asked the question that was hanging in the air. “And you think this might have anything to do with us? I mean...” he flicked his fingers in a circle, capturing all their secrets in a gesture.

Ashlee sighed. “There’s no evidence of that here, but...” she left the unfinished sentence hanging in the air.

“But,” Nic said heavily, putting down her fork. “There’s always a but.”

* * *

Kevin slunk back into Texas before breakfast. On the flight home, he’d tried to distract himself from thoughts of banned chemicals and strings of genes by practicing what he’d say to Joe -- the deal fell through, might be called back later, nothing serious, Pete’s a great guy, but he’s just not ready to record on his own.

But when he walked into the room, Joe and Nick were wrestling for the remote and barely acknowledged his return. “Good trip,” was all Joe asked, already distracted by the images of Spongebob Squarepants cavorting across the screen.

“It was okay,” Kevin said, mouth dry.

* * *

Kevin had lost track of the cities; it was just another hotel room, somewhere in America. He couldn’t be more precise than that.

And he was _tired_.

He sat in the uncomfortable armchair and ran his fingertips in a continuing loop over the whorls and swirls of the pattern of the upholstery, listening to his father go over Frankie’s schedule with him.

Frankie. Frankie who didn’t know what he was letting himself in for, not really, despite having all but grown up in the back of vans and tour buses. Frankie, who should have been starting middle school, and learning his first locker combination and getting lost on the way to the cafeteria, not talking contracts and performances and signing bonuses.

“Isn’t he too young?” Kevin almost didn’t recognize his own voice. “For all this, I mean?”

His father glanced up at him. The look on his face wasn’t hostile, just...blank. Like what Kevin was saying just wasn’t making sense. “Frankie’s good,” he said at last, a little defensively.

“I never said he wasn’t,” Kevin said, glancing over to see Frankie’s stormy expression. “I just said he’s young.”

Frankie all but pouted, and it only served to make him look even younger still. “You’re just jealous because I’m going to be more famous than you and Joe _combined_ ,” he taunted, and Kevin gave up.

“Fine. Whatever.” He sat back, but suddenly the room felt too small, too stifling, almost claustrophobic. He pushed out of the armchair. “I’m going for a walk.”

“No you’re not...Kevin! KEVIN, GET BACK HERE!” His father’s voice followed him up the corridor.

He slammed the door behind him, and glanced about, but the corridor was empty. He phased out of sight just as the door was yanked open again behind him. “Where’d he go?” his father asked, a little bewildered.

“It’s just Kevin,” he heard Frankie say from further inside. “He’ll be fine.”

The door closed again, and Kevin mooched away towards the elevators.

* * *

The tension lingered all through the North American leg of the tour, and Kevin found himself unable to let it go this time. When it came time to take a break before they headed to Mexico, Kevin lied and said his friends back in Jersey had asked him to come hang for a few days.

Big Rob drove him to the airport, walked him to the check-in counter, and didn’t protest when Kevin changed his ticket for one heading to Chicago. “You might want to at least let him know you’re coming,” he said quietly as they waited in a corner of the passenger lounge by the gate.

Kevin took a deep breath. “Texted him in the car,” he admitted. “He’s got a studio thing when the flight gets in, but I’ve got a key.”

“Okay. But did you also text him that you’re in a grumpy mood,” Rob teased. Kevin sighed, and Rob chucked his arm gently. “Hey,” he added softly but more seriously. “Get out of here, get your head on straight, do what you gotta do before we head out to Mexico,” he told Kevin sternly.

“Thanks,” Kevin said, trying to make the word encompass everything.

Rob pushed him to his feet as his flight was call. “Go on,” he said fondly. “Get.”

* * *

Kevin heard Mike come in. “Kevin?” he called out cautiously.

“In here,” Kevin called back. But he stayed seated, staring at the empty mug on the table top.

Mike walked into the room. He stopped when he saw the mug. “Kevin?” he asked again, more cautiously.

“Hey,” Kevin sighed.

Mike blinked, like he hadn’t been expecting an answer. “Umm,” he said cautiously, fumbling at the back of the chair opposite. “Any reason why you’re sitting in the dark.” He sat down and blinked. “Invisible?”

Kevin glanced at his hands and laughed without humour. He let reality reclaim him slowly, fading back into view. “Better?” he asked a little more archly than he’d intended.

Mike nodded, but he still looked worried. “Let me guess, you’ve been practicing the Cheshire Cat thing just to be creepy, right?”

Kevin picked up the mug and investigated the now-cold dregs. “To be honest, hadn’t even realized I’d done it.”

Mike’s smile faded. “So,” he said slowly, dragging out the sound. “You’re just going invisible by default now?” He got up and came around to rest his hands on Kevin’s shoulders, almost like he was afraid Kevin was going to disappear on him again. Kevin leaned back as Mike began digging into the knots with his thumbs. “Anything you want to talk about?”

Kevin closed his eyes. “Nothing you haven’t heard a million times before.”

There was a long pause, full of understanding silence. “I could stand to hear it a million and one,” Mike finally murmured. “If you want me to.”

Kevin never wanted to leave this moment. “I love you,” he whispered instead of rehashing his usual litany of complaints. It was the more important thing that needed to be said.

He felt Mike’s lips press down onto his hair. “I love you too,” he said, sounding like he had heard what was running through Kevin’s head. Anything more was cut off by Kevin’s phone blaring Ashlee’s ringtone.

Kevin snatched it up off the table. “Hey...yeah? Where...okay, got it, yep. Will you...okay, bye.”

“A job?” Mike asked, nervousness and excited anticipation threading in his voice, though his hands never let up their gentle squeezing and kneading of his shoulders..

Kevin rolled his phone pensively in his hand. “Yeah.”

Mike sucked in a gasp and reached down, his fumbling hand catching Kevin’s for a brief moment of stillness before they were up and getting ready to roll.

* * *

Kevin both loved and hated fires. When he was phased, moving through the burning building was like moving through a dream. The fire was a living thing, changing colour and shape and mood as different materials caught and burned.

In the abstract, it was beautiful. But it was a beauty that killed.

Kevin was better with corpses now, and a tiny part of him wondered if he should be mourning that loss of innocence. He shoved the thought aside and kept moving deeper into the heart of the blaze. He couldn’t help them now; but there were still those he could.

His skin was still cool, despite the fact that the paint on the wall was bubbling. Only the air he was breathing was warm, and tasted faintly of ash, like Mike’s mouth after he snuck a cigarette when he thought Kevin wouldn’t notice.

Kevin knew, as long as he kept moving, he’d be fine. He tried not to analyse how it worked, just trusted that it would as he walked through a door, blackened and soot-scored, and into a bathroom.

There, cowering in a bathtub under a wet towel, were the two small children that Ashlee had sent him to find. Phasing back in, the heat hit him like a blowtorch, and he was grateful that Mike had had the forethought to wrap a soaked bandana around Kevin’s neck before he lifted him up and dropped him through the burning roof.

“Hey,” he said gently, mouth already dry. “Smart thinking, getting in the bathtub.” Two sets of huge dark eyes stared at him.

“Are you a fireyman?” the youngest asked, pressing into her older brother.

“Even better,” her brother answered for him. “He’s a _superhero_. He’s wearing the mask and everything!”

Kevin smiled at him. “Yup. And I’m gonna get you out of here, but you’ve gotta promise me you won’t tell the grown-ups how we did it. It’s gotta be our little secret.”

The boy nodded and solemnly held out his hand, little finger curled and ready.

Kevin hooked his own pinkie around it and sealed the deal.

They watched from the building opposite as the emergency service workers reunited the children with their father. Kevin never looked away as Mike gripped his shoulder tightly, just leaned into the moment of contact.

“Come on, we’ve gotta go,” Mike murmured.

Kevin remembered the burned corpse inside, and knew it wasn’t going to be easy for the three tiny figures huddled together on the street. But watching them, he had the unshakable feeling that, even so, they were going to be okay.

Kevin stood and walked away.

* * *

Mexico was a whirlwind; the signs were in Spanish first, but apart from that it was hard to tell they were in another country. They were never left alone. The hours dragged like he was phased, though he took care to make sure he never disappeared where people could see him go. Kevin went where he was pointed and did what he was told and only felt alive as the lights came up and the roar of the crowd hit him like a tidal wave.

* * *

The tour ended, like all tours do, but this time there wasn’t the next thing to go on with; Joe and Nick had made other plans. Kevin woke slowly, blinking until his surroundings made sense. It was the first day post-tour, the first day off being a Jonas Brother in years, and the future stretched out before him, empty and daunting.

Step one: get out of bed.

He staggered out of the guest room and down the corridor, grinning as Fendi came barreling up to meet him, claws scrabbling on the floor.

Kevin dropped easily to his knees, rubbing his fingers through Fendi’s thick ruff as he cooed nonsense at the happily panting pup. “Kevin Jonas, stop trying to steal my dog away from me.” He looked up to see Nic grinning at him, hair sticking in every direction, pajama pants hanging low on her hips.

“You’re just jealous,” he told her, sticking his tongue out just to hear her laugh. He gave the dog a final pat before climbing slowly to his feet and going over to wrap her in a bearhug.

“What, no scritches?” she asked teasingly, squealing with delight when Kevin ruffled her hair. “Just for that, you’re making me breakfast.” She slipped out of his hug and sauntered towards the kitchen, half-turning to add “I feel like pancakes.”

Breakfast. He could do that. Step two.

* * *

Nic was working, Cass was on tour, and Mike was in the studio, leaving Kevin with hours by himself. He walked Fendi early in the morning, the first rays of sunlight barely creeping over the skyline. He cooked, and tried to fix Nic’s waste disposal, and then arranged for a repairman for the next day.

After a whole week of forcing himself not to, he picked up the acoustic guitar he had brought with him. His fingers automatically began shaping themselves around the opening chords for World War III.

He stilled the strings with a touch and stared at the wall. On the rug, Fendi twitched in doggy dreams. Kevin bit his lip, closed his eyes, and deliberately played three chords in an unfamiliar sequence. It sounded good, and he played them again. Under his breath, he hummed a counter-melody, tapping out a beat with his toe.

He didn’t hear Nic come home; it was the smell of pizza that roused him. The light streaming through the window was tinted orange-red as he put down the guitar, back and neck muscles suddenly screaming in complaint of sitting all day.

He staggered into the kitchen, smiling at the sight of Mike and Nic sitting companionably around her table. “We didn’t want to disturb you,” Mike said, opening his arms as Kevin came over to drop a kiss onto his lips. “It sounded good,” he added.

“Here,” Nic said, smiling as she nudged the pizza box closer. Kevin’s stomach growled, and he blushed slightly as she laughed. “Good day?”

Kevin took the seat in-between them and nodded. The cheesy was hot and greasy and stringy, and Mike caught a falling strand, twirling it around his fingers before sucking it off. Kevin swallowed hard, staring at Mike’s lips.

Nic laughed again. “And there’s my cue to go give Cass a call.” She stood, picking up her glass. “I’ll be in my room. Door shut,” she added meaningfully before disappearing up the corridor.

Kevin was torn between finishing his pizza and just pouncing on Mike. Mike grinned and nodded at the slice drooping between Kevin’s fingers. “Eat,” he said fondly. “Tell me about what you were playing. I didn’t recognize it.”

Kevin shrugged and tried to stop the toppings from sliding off. “It’s new,” he mumbled.

“Yours?” Mike asked, leaning in as Kevin nodded. There was a long pause, and Kevin could feel the weight of Mike’s gaze. “Let me know when you’re ready to play it for someone.”

Kevin looked up, smiling his thanks. He loved so many things about Mike, but the way that he _got it_ about things like this was high on the list. “Will do. Tell me about the studio. Have you killed William yet?”

Mike rolled his eyes and launched into a story as Kevin devoured the rest of the pizza. When they did finally tumble into bed, long after night had closed in around them, it was slow and easy, their bodies naturally finding the rhythm that had eluded Kevin all day.

He fell asleep, twined in against Mike, with the bones of the song running through his head.

* * *

Nic was giggling at her laptop as Kevin tumbled out of his room, fingers aching and raw. She saw him, and pointed at the screen. “Wanna say hi to Cass?”

Kevin detoured around to lean over the back of her chair. “Hi Cass,” he said into the little shiny lens of the webcam. On the screen, Cass leaned in, beaming, as she wiggled her fingers. “What are you guys up to?”

“Mischief, mayhem and chaos,” Cass declared, her laughter tinny through the tiny laptop speakers.

Kevin drifted over to the counter, and filled the kettle. “Well, you girls have fun now,” he said easily.

“Hey, we should show him,” Nic said excitedly, half-turned so she was facing both Kevin and the webcam.

“Show me what, and can my delicate eyes handle it?” Kevin asked as he got down a mug out of the cabinet. It was a valid question. He had no problems with sexting, but walking in on your two best friends trying it out via video uplink was not an experience he wished to repeat. Nic pouted and pointed at the screen until he moved warily over to look.

Kevin frowned, not sure what he was meant to be looking at. “Hey, isn’t this that stupid fansite thing?”

“It’s not stupid,” Nic said hotly as Cass made a staticky noise of protest over the skype connection. “Besides, we have a theory. If there’s more, y’know, like us, they might be lurking in the comment threads. We’re just...” she trailed off with a shrug.

Kevin went to turn off the whistling kettle. “Trolling?” he offered over his shoulder.

“ _Perusing_ the forums to see if anything sticks out,” Nic corrected him primly as she clicked away at the laptop keyboard.

Kevin stirred his tea and tossed the spoon in the sink. “Well, you girls have fun,” he said brightly. “I’m just going to-” he flapped his hands vaguely. “Go away now.”

Nic flipped him off, and Kevin laughed as he headed back to his room and the half-finished song.

* * *

Kevin gave up in a frustrated huff and threw his plectrum at the wall. It bounced, landing on the top of the dresser with a plastic clatter. He flopped backwards onto the bed and pressed the heels of his palms against his eyes, trying to push away the burning sense of frustration.

Maybe he should just admit that he couldn’t write by himself now and save everyone the bother.

He sighed, staring at the ceiling, feeling his skin prickle. He threw himself off the bed and went to go find Fendi’s leash instead.

* * *

For all the times they had relied on her, Kevin had never actually seen Ashlee using her power. Even knowing what he did, he almost didn’t notice--it stole over her with a breathy gasp mid-sentence. He caught her hand as it groped blindly for the counter, supporting her as she rode the vision out. “Okay?” he asked gently as her power released and she sagged against him.

“Woah,” she whispered. “That was a big one.” Her eyelids fluttered as she came fully back to the present. “Oh no,” she said, face pale. “It’s them. The guys with the briefcase again.”

Kevin nodded, feeling his heart start to race. “Okay,” he said calmly. “Where?”

* * *


	3. Chapter 3

* * *

Kevin pushed off the alley wall as Nic’s car nosed into the little lot behind the row of shopfronts opposite the squat office building Ashlee had seen. Keeping his chin tucked down in between his upturned collar, he tugged open the back door and slid in behind the passenger seat. “Nobody’s come or gone since I’ve been here,” he reported as he tugged the door closed.

From the other side of the back seat, Cass offered him his backpack. Kevin nodded his thanks as he started tugging out the elements of his disguise.

“We’ll swing round,” Nic told him, driving slowly around a dumpster and sneaking deeper into the alleys. “We don’t want anyone getting a look at the car,” she added, glancing at him in the rear-view mirror.

“Yeah,” Mike said, running the palm of his hand over the velcro panel of his jacket. He twisted in the passenger seat to look at Kevin. “Ashlee was _sure_ we didn’t have time to go get another rental?”

Kevin nodded, leaning forward to wiggle out of his jacket. “She says they’ll hit the place at dusk, we’ll only have a few minutes to beat them inside.” He glanced out the window, but they were in another narrow laneway, no-one in sight. He shimmied his sweater over his head and dumped it in the footwell. “Now or never, basically.” Kevin looked at his flak jacket, sighed, and began buckling it together. “Any ideas on the best way to get in.” Cass leaned over help hold the front and back of the jacket apart, and Kevin reached through it, phasing as he pulled the jacket through his chest. He rematerialized inside it and began tightening the straps.

Mike raised an eyebrow and gave a nod. “Um, yeah, daylight’s the issue. How do you and Cass feel about phasing out of the car when we’re stopped at the corner. Nic and I will swing round again and building hop our way over to you. We go down from the top, you come up from the bottom, and,” he shrugged again. “We go from there.”

Kevin looked to Cass. She was grinning so broadly that Kevin’s cheeks hurt in sympathy. “Okay then, guess that’s a plan.” He tugged his mask down over his face and took Cass’ hand as the car slowed. When the car accelerated slowly away, they stayed behind, invisible on the street. Keeping a tight grip, Kevin peeked around the corner before tugging Cass forward. There was an older woman carrying groceries as she left the last shop on the row on the other side of the street, but apart from that, everything was quiet.

Inside, the building was cool and silent, old wooden fixtures and high ceilings making it feel more like a dark cave than an office building. Kevin and Cass were as quiet as mice as they crossed the lobby and ascended the stairs to the first floor.

Ash couldn’t tell where in the building they needed to be -- one of the offices was the best she could do. Kevin glanced around automatically, but couldn’t see any security cameras. “Thoughts?” he asked Cass.

She flexed her fingers, freeing her hand and phasing back into solidity as they broke contact. “We need to find the right office. You can move faster without me. I’ll keep watch.”

Kevin nodded, forgetting for a second he was still invisible. “Right.”

The rooms passed by in a blur of images as Kevin ran through them, barely registering the vague sensation of moving through different materials; wood was soft and strangely silky, metal had a coolness, and wiring was a faint tickle lashing across him as he ducked through walls and strode straight across cubicles.

The first floor was quiet and empty as the sun started to sink below the horizon. Kevin rejoined Cass, and together they climbed to the second floor.

The shadows were getting longer. A noise further down the corridor had Kevin pushing Cass up and through a wall. He didn’t like to stay phased through other things; his ears started ringing like he had been underwater too long, but he paused half-in, half-out of the wall, relaxing as Nic and Mike peeked around a corner. Towing Cass back out, he waited until she was clear before waggling a finger in silent rebuke.

Mike shrugged as he approached. “Sorry. Random potplant surprised me,” he whispered.

Kevin leaned into him. “You suck as a superhero,” he whispered back.

Mike snorted under his breath. “There’s a reason I usually stay on the roof.”

Nic and Cass turned to them, so close their arms were touching, shoulder to wrist. “Anything?” Nic mouthed.

Kevin shook his head and glanced out the high windows at the end of the corridor. The light was tinged blood-red, the last dregs of sunlight dying away as night crept across the city. He pointed down one corridor, and Cass nodded as she took Nic’s hand.

Mike was watching him as Kevin glanced up at him. “I’ve been running the rooms, Cass has been watching the corridor,” he explained.

“Got it,” Mike said, and Kevin had to fight the urge to kiss the tiny sliver of mouth visible through Mike’s mask. Instead, he nodded again, turned, and jogged through the nearest wall.

* * *

The second floor was as empty as the first, and Kevin was wondering if, for the first time, Ash had got it wrong. The four of them climbed to the third floor, splitting off left and right down the corridor without a word.

Then he walked through a door and through a person. He froze, forcing himself to stay phased and not throw up. He’d avoided walking through people before, and now he knew why. Wet was the dominant theme, with strong overtones of squelchy.

It took a few seconds for Kevin to stop grimacing and open his eyes. He exhaled silently, staying close to the door, watching them as the one he had walked through started rifling through filing cabinets. A second man was sitting at a computer terminal. As Kevin watched, he jerked some cables out and began winding them around a slim portable hard drive. “Let’s go,” he told him companion.

Over by the cabinets, the other one nodded, pulling out one more set of folders and stuffing them into a briefcase that Kevin recognized, though this one didn’t have a broken clasp. He backed out through the door and rematerialized. “In there,” he mouthed.

Behind his mask, Mike’s eyes widened, but he nodded, backing up and plastering hiself against the wall. Kevin turned, letting his power flow across his skin as the lock clicked and the door opened. The first guy, the one with the hard drive, looked left and right. “Clear. Come on, before the cops get here.”

Kevin waited until the second guy, the one with the briefcase, appeared right behind the first man in the doorway. After all this time, he was learning how useful small spaces could be in a fight when walls only bothered the other guy.

He stepped through the doorframe, materializing long enough to plant his boot in the second guys’ back. He careened into the first, sending them both tumbling out into the corridor, off-balance and confused.

Mike dropped; Kevin hadn’t seen him lift off, but in these old buildings, there was a lot of height to hide in. He landed on the first guy, and Kevin focused on the second, grabbing him by the sleeves of his jacket and pulling him towards a wall, trying to control the space.

The guy was bigger than him, and Kevin could feel the power of his muscles-- stronger, taller, and by the growl that ripped from his throat as he thrashed, angrier. Kevin grinned, showing teeth. “Nice. But can you do this?” He tightened his grip and pulled _backwards_ , stepping neatly through the internal wall by the door, feeling the silk of wood and the grit of drywall flow over him.

The man in his grasp panicked. Kevin could see it on his face as he hauled him through the wall. But he wasn’t expected the punch.

Normally, in a fight, Kevin was invisible, or at least phased, out of the range of contact. But this guy was phased too, riding Kevin’s power. The fist caught Kevin hard across the jaw. The angle was awkward, but the impact was hard enough to make stars dance in front of his eyes. Kevin’s entire body rocked with the shock as much as the blow, and instinct took over.

Kevin let go.

The guy didn’t scream; if he had, it would have made it real. Instead, he made a strange, choked noise in his throat and fell forward like his legs weren’t supporting him.

That was because his legs were now inside the wall. The stumps terminated where his knees roughly should have been, the cut as clean and as straight as the wall. Even the material of his pants had severed neatly, laying flush up against the drywall. Kevin stared as deep red blood began to pool rapidly, soaking into the cheap institutional carpet.

Kevin started as something heavy thumped into the wall outside. The man on the floor moaned, low and deep, like a wounded animal, hands twitching futilely on the carpet.

“Hey,” Mike said, appearing the doorway, breathing hard. “I’ve got...oh shit.”

Kevin just continued to stare as Mike slowly, cautiously, came over and touched his arm. “He let go,” Kevin said tonelessly, unable to drag his eyes away. On the floor, the man gasped softly, his hands falling slack on the floor. The puddle of red had reached a cabinet pushed up against the wall, was pooling in odd lines as it thickened. “I let go.”

Mike grabbed his hand hard enough to hurt and dragged him away. Kevin’s legs seemed unwilling to bed. “Come on, baby, please,” Mike begged, tugging harder.

Kevin swallowed hard, staring at the lifeless figure on the floor. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

There was so much blood.

* * *

Kevin didn’t remember much of the next few hours, just vague flashes. Cass and Nic, arms full of papers, smiles falling as they saw them. The distant wail and flash of sirens as once again the police were so close yet too late, too late. The feel of air on his skin as Mike held him close and lifted him to safety. The way Cass and Mike crawled into the backseat with him and held on tightly.

Nic’s house, his home for weeks now, felt like an alien landscape. Fendi whined as Kevin was led into his room. Gentle hands pulled him free of his costume, and he was vaguely aware of quiet voices through the doorway.

Kevin started to shiver as the last of his disguise was stripped away. “There was so much blood,” he whispered.

“I know,” Mike whispered back, dragging him under covers. He plastered himself against Kevin’s side, holding him tight, holding him together. Kevin closed his eyes, heard the dying man’s animal moans echo in his ears again. His skin started to tingle, and Kevin let it spread.

“Hey!” Kevin flinched, gasping as Mike pinched him, hard enough to bruise. “No,” he said sharply. “Stay with me here.”

That sounded easier. Kevin curled into Mike and held on tight.

* * *

Kevin woke and drifted repeatedly. Mike was always there, and sometimes Fendi was a soft weight sprawled across his feet. Once, he woke to feel Nic sitting on the edge of the bed, stroking his forehead. “Sleep, honey,” she murmured, kissing his forehead as he drifted off again.

He finally, properly, woke to the cool, blue light of dawn, the smell of coffee brewing, and an incredible need to piss. He stared at the face in the mirror as he washed his hands. Did he look older, or was that just the scruff, the faded bruise along his jawline?

He staggered out and into Mike’s waiting arms. “How you feeling?”

Kevin closed his eyes, almost afraid to take stock. “Better,” he said, feeling surprised that it was true.

Mike held on as Cass spoke from the doorway. “Weird, isn’t it?” She came over as Mike opened his arm out, dragging her into the hug with them. “You feel like everything should be different, but it’s all just the same.”

Kevin swallowed hard. “Is it...?” he let the question tail off, not sure what he was asking.

Cass shrugged, leaning against Mike’s shoulder as she smiled wanly at him. “Some days, you feel guilty. Some days, you forget entirely. Some days, you want to scream." She stroked his hair back off the side of his face. "But it fades, over time. It's there, like this weight in the back of your mind, but you live with it."

Mike nodded, leaning forward to kiss his cheek. "We'll help."

Kevin smiled, unsure whether he was going to cry. “Hey!” A voice said from the doorway. The three of them looked over to see Nic standing there, hands on hips and a softness in her eyes. “Group hugs without me are not allowed.”

Kevin surprised himself, the laugh bubbling out of him as he lifted the arm wrapped around Cass’ waist, making room for her to squeeze in with them.

It would be okay. He had to believe that.

* * *

Kevin waited until Mike was in the shower before he sank to his knees in the soft lamplight. “Dear God,” he prayed. “I don’t know his name, or what he was doing, or what kind of person he was. Whether he believed in You, whether he’d want me praying for his soul. But I just know that my actions...I’m responsible, and I’ll take whatever punishment you deem fit.” He glanced up at the sound of the faucet being turned off. “But please, don’t punish my friends for this. In Your name, we pray. Amen.”

He was pulling down the covers as Mike came out of the bathroom. He looked at Kevin oddly, but Kevin just smiled at him and crawled into bed.

* * *

The most terrifying thing was how quickly things went back to normal. Kevin had slept for days, and if their latest escapade had made the six o’clock news, nobody told Kevin. Cass returned to tour, and Mike went back to the studio with a story about bad Mexican food and three days in bed sick. Nic booked more jobs and, sooner than he had hoped for, Kevin found himself alone in Nic’s apartment, absently stroking Fendi’s smooth fur. “Right,” he said out loud. Fendi lifted his head off Kevin’s lap hopefully. Kevin looked into the big brown eyes and made a decision. “I can handle having a superpower. I can face down robbers and kidnappers. I can deal with everything from...” he giggled at himself as he stroked Fendi’s ears. “From _dastardly_ plots to Frankie’s pranks.” His mind skittered away from the thought, and Kevin resumed stroking the length of Fendi’s back. “I’ve played out of the back of vans in parking lots and Madison Square Garden, and kept my boyfriend a secret from the paparazzi, my parents, and Nick. If I can do all that, I can do this.”

Fendi made a vaguely interested noise and flopped back down on the rug. Kevin took a deep breath. “I can write an album.”

* * *

Nic found him first, lying on his back in the living room, surrounded by his guitars and page after page of notes, some scribbled out, some crumpled up. “Not going well?” she asked sympathetically.

Kevin groaned, arm flung over his eyes. “I suck.”

Nic laughed, but it wasn’t mean. “Nuh uh. I don’t make friends with losers.” Her voice faded as she walked through into the kitchen. “I’m making noodles, want some.”

Kevin rolled over and left his failure spread out on the carpet.

* * *

He pushed his shades up onto his head as he walked through the main doors of the studio, and tried not to remember that this was the first time he’d been out of Nic’s apartment since....

Kevin took a deep breath and forced himself to read the load notice stuck above the elevator buttons to distract himself. By the time he stepped out on the right floor, his usual smile was pasted on again.

Mike’s directions had been cursory, but Kevin found the right room by the simple expedient of following William Beckett’s voice. He leaned against the door, watching, loathe to interrupt William’s process, even if it consisted mainly of pacing around, repeating his point with increasing volume. He turned his head as Butcher approached. “You might want to get in there, he’s been at Mike about this fucking chord progression all day, and I think Mount Carden is about to erupt.”

Kevin smiled. “To be honest, I think he enjoys it.”

Butcher rolled his eyes. “They both do, but that doesn’t mean the rest of us like it.” He clapped Kevin on the shoulder as he squeezed past. “Tell those fuckers that Sisky, Chis and I have gone for lunch.”

Kevin waited until he heard the elevator ding before wandering over to where Mike and William were sitting, arguing over notes spread out over the table. “Hi guys,” he said brightly, just like he did when he needed to get between Joe and Nick and another one of their stupid arguments. But he rested a hand on Mike’s shoulder and dropped a kiss onto his hair.

Mike beamed and William scowled. “Little one, tell your man that he is wrong.”

Kevin forced himself to keep a straight face. “Mike, William says you’re wrong.” He even managed to get just the right amount of school-yard, _nyah nyah nyah_ in there. It worked, both Mike and William cracking up as the tension dissipated. Kevin beamed. “Now, the rest of your band has abandoned you in favour of lunch. Hungry?”

“The fiends!” William declared before dropping the theatrics. “Come on, we’ve found this _awesome_ Thai place.”

Twenty minutes later, the three of them tucked around a little table below a large tank of brightly coloured fish and gave their orders to a petite little waitress who kept glancing sideways at Kevin. “Do you ever get pissed off with that?” William asked quietly once she had gone.

Kevin shrugged but didn’t look up from the little basket of sauce bottles in the centre of the table. “Joe and Nick get it the most. Generally, people don’t really recognize me, or think it’s me.” He shrugged again and glanced up. “I bet your fans spot you a mile away.”

William beamed. “That is because I was blessed with a sixth foot.” He even had the gall to pat Kevin on the head. “Anyway, onto business. What brings you to LA this time?”

Before Kevin could come up with a lie, Mike leaned forward. “Kevin’s writing his solo album.”

Kevin pulled his napkin off the table and tugged it across his lap. “ _Trying_ to write,” he corrected, a little more petulantly than he would have liked. “Trying is very much the operative word.”

He hoped that would be the end of it, but William leaned forward. “Blocked?” he asked with such sympathy that the snappy retort died on Kevin’s lips.

“Yeah. I mean, it’s okay, but it’s just not...right,” he finished at last.

“You’re your own worst critic,” Mike pointed out as he sipped his soda.

“As so it should be,” William corrected him. He turned back to Kevin. “Any idea where the block is?” Kevin shrugged, wishing he could think of a way to change the subject. William sat back, nodding to himself. “Is it honesty?”

Kevin’s head whipped up.

William leaned in again, resting his chin on his hand. “I find when songs don’t come out right, it’s one of three things. It’s too soon. It’s the wrong approach. Or I’m not being honest.” He fixed Kevin with a look that stripped him bare. “I’d start with number three, if I were you.” Then the moment snapped, and he sat up. “Ah, I spy my Tom Yam Kung!” he declared as the waitress came over, balancing a heavy tray.

Over the table, Mike watched Kevin with concern. Kevin flashed him a wan smile, and Mike nodded and turned the conversation to something else.

* * *

Kevin tidied away the last of the notes, and sat down with his acoustic. Nick was a note-taker, but Kevin felt that maybe this needed a different approach. He took a deep breath, and strummed three chords, the three he had started with. He played them over and over, changing the pace, picking sometimes, other times rocking so hard the strings squeaked. He let his mind drift back, over the past month, year, two years, four.

He remembered the first time he met Mike, the first time they kissed, the first time they said ‘I Love You.’ He remembered it all, and continued to play.

* * *

Song after song poured out, all the lies, all the secrets, coded into lyrics and framed in key. “Nic,” he called out one day, knowing she was sitting in the kitchen, listening.

“Yeah, sweetie?” she asked, appearing in the doorway, hands wrapped around a mug, pajama pants riding low despite the fact it was almost sunset.

“Your dog is going on the cover of this album,” he told her, and watched her laugh.

That went into a song too.

* * *

He recorded the demos right there in Nic’s living room, borrowing some equipment, getting other bits shipped out from Texas. He knew the songs were written for a full band, drums and bass and another guitar at least, maybe some strings here and there, the occasional piano line. But he also knew that if the songs couldn’t stand up without them, with just his voice and guitar, then they weren’t ever going to be good enough.

He recorded them, one after another, never going back, letting the rawness become part of the music. He zipped up the mp3s, attached them to an email. “I trust you to tell the truth” he put in the subject line, and hit send.

Then he went and got Fendi’s leash and went on with his life.

* * *

Kevin took Nic’s hugs, Cass’s happy squeals over the phone, Mike’s kiss, with calmness. “But is it good?” he asked again and again.

“It’s brilliant,” Mike said. He leaned back just enough to study Kevin’s. “But will you be able to go on tour and sing that, night after night, to thousands of people?”

Kevin shrugged in his arms. “I guess. You’re getting ahead of yourself, though.”

Mike shook his head and kissed him again. “I don’t think I am.”

Later, doing the dishes, Kevin’s phone rang. He wiped the suds off on the seat of his jeans and grabbed it off the table, blinking at the unfamiliar number. “Hello?” he asked cautiously.

“So tell me,” an almost familiar voice said cheerfully down the line. “Do Disney own your soul for this too, or can I make a bid?”

“Pete?” Kevin hazarded.

There was a braying laugh down the line that was as good as a confirmation. “I heard the pre-demos.” The laughter faded. “They’re good. I mean, really good. I’d want to hear the full pieces before committing to anything, but I’d be willing to lay out for some session time to get them, if you’re interested.

Kevin blinked, aware of the eavesdropping ears all around him. “Okay, um, yeah, sure, that sounds great.”

“Excellent,” Pete said cheerfully. “Ash sends her love. Bye now.”

And Kevin was left listening to the dialtone hum counterpoint to the hammering in his chest.

“Who was that?” Mike asked. Kevin dropped his phone on the table and recounted the other half of the conversation as he jammed dishes onto the draining rack.

“Ash put him up to it,” Kevin complained later that night, as they were brushing their teeth.

“But love,” Mike spat and sighed. “In the end, does that matter, if you can do the job you want? If you can get out and be free?”

* * *

The demo space was two floors below from where Mike’s band were finalizing their recording. Kevin perhaps shouldn’t have been surprised when The Butcher wandered down to add a detail to a percussion line, or if Sisky mentioned in passing a trick to get the sound Kevin wanted out of his bass, or when William offered to sing backup once his own vocal work was done, barely beating out Ash and Cass texting in similar offers.

He shouldn’t have been, but he was.

* * *

Kevin flew back to Texas with the contract from Pete and the demo CD heavy in his bag.

It felt like a lifetime since he had seen everyone, and it was almost overwhelmingly strange yet familiar at the same time to be back around his family’s table, eating his mother’s cooking and grinning as Joe teased Nick.

He’d promised himself he’d only share the CD with them if they asked. He wasn’t sure whether he wanted them to ask or not.

It was Joe, tackling him onto the sofa after dinner, making Kevin groan as his full belly protested the extra weight. “Get off me, sheesh!”

“Come on, Kev,” he said, sitting back. “Nick’s told us all about what he’s been up to, but I wanna hear from you. How was LA? Do anything exciting?”

Kevin’s mouth was dry. “Um, actually. Yeah.” He saw, through the arch that connected the family room to the dining room, his father look over with vague interest. He focused on Joe; that was easier. “I, umm, got my demo done, and it, umm, got picked up by Decaydance.”

The next few minutes were a torrent of questions, words tumbling over each other as everyone surged forward. Kevin felt like he was going to start laughing hysterically. “So,” Nick said, looking fierce and young all at the same time. “Do we get to hear it?”

Kevin stood up and went to fetch his backpack from where he’d dumped it in the entry. “They’re just demos, so they’re pretty rough.”

Nick all but snatched the jewelcase out of his hands and went to over to the stereo. Kevin sank into the cushions on the couch and kept his eyes locked on his knees as the opening notes spilled out of the speakers.

As the last chord faded away, Kevin couldn’t bring himself to look up and see their faces. He wasn’t sure if he could handle what he might find there. “Well?” he asked, wincing slightly, tensing in anticipation.

He still wasn’t ready for the three-way pouncing as his brothers tackle-hugged him. Laughing in relief, Kevin hugged them back. “No, come on, seriously.” He looked up at his father.

Senior was staring at him. “It’s amazing, Kevin,” he said with a sincerity Kevin normally only heard directed at Nick. “I just wish you’d brought it to me first, before signing with another label.”

Kevin nodded. “Thanks. But...” he frowned. “I need to be able to prove that I can do this by myself. No special treatment.”

“Prove to who?” Frankie demanded, tugging at his sleeve.

“Me. Everyone else. Whoever might now give me a chance and listen because it hasn’t got a Disney logo on it?” He saw Nick nodding, and knew at least someone here understood.

“How long have you been writing, sweetheart?” his mother asked. “Is this what you’ve been working on? I thought you had been so withdrawn lately.” Her eyes sparkled as she leaned forward. “Is there maybe a lady involved? Those last few tracks certainly sounded like they were about someone special.”

Kevin froze. In that split-second, he saw the future unfurling, all the secrets weighing him down, holding him back, wearing him out one half-truth and deception at a time. He knew he could lie once more, say they weren’t about anyone. But right in that moment, he knew, like Ash knew the future, exactly where that would lead, and he knew almost immediately that he didn’t want that.

For once, his family were looking at him and actually seeing him there. If he didn’t do it now, he would never get this chance again.

Kevin Jonas took a deep breath and told the truth.

~fin~


End file.
